Noted Chicago architect unveils bold designs for U. of C. dorms

July 23, 2013|By Blair Kamin | Chicago Tribune critic

Rendering of a dormitory complex designed by architect Jeanne Gang for the University of Chicago. (University of Chicago)

Acclaimed Chicago architect Jeanne Gang on Tuesday unveiled her plan for a $148 million dormitory complex at the University of Chicago, the latest in a series of bold designs that have remade the storied, once-frumpy neo-Gothic enclave.

Gang's proposal calls for three buildings of 15, 11 and 5 stories, each about 250 feet long and slightly bent to reduce the visual impact of their length. They would house a total of about 800 students and form a grand portal into the northeast corner of the university's Hyde Park campus.

Responding to the university's custom of grouping dorm residents into smaller clusters called "houses," interiors would be organized around three-story lounges with their own internal stairways, where students could meet or study. Instead of limestone gargoyles and Gothic tracery, the buildings would be faced in sculpted concrete that would create dramatic shadow patterns.

The design's wavy lines inevitably will draw comparisons with the undulating balconies of Gang's Aqua tower in Chicago, although, in contrast to Aqua, the dominant emphasis is vertical, not horizontal.

"We found a way to distill some of the Gothic traits and find out what they mean for now," Gang said in an interview at the office of her firm, Studio Gang Architects, in Wicker Park. Her design was to be presented at a press briefing Tuesday at the university's Logan Center for the Arts The dorm complex is scheduled to open in 2016.

In the past dozen years, the U. of C. has turned to globally renowned architects — among them Rafael Vinoly, Cesar Pelli, Tod Williams, Billie Tsien and Chicago's Helmut Jahn — to expand and modernize its Hyde Park campus with the Logan Center and other new buildings. Though university officials have been loath to admit it, the effort also sought to cast off the U. of C.'s image as a school inhabited by brilliant grinds where "fun goes to die."

Gang and her firm were recognized this year with a prestigious National Design Award, adding to the allure arising from Gang's 2011 receipt of a MacArthur "genius" grant.

Studio Gang will lead an architect-builder team that includes the Chicago office of Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction. Demolition of the 250-bed Pierce Tower, a 1960 campus high-rise by Chicago architect Harry Weese that now occupies the site, is expected to begin in August. Construction on its replacement is scheduled to start next year.

Gang's design seeks to reverse Pierce Tower's fortresslike street presence, reflecting a resurgence of retail activity in the neighborhood and her desire to open a gateway to such nearby buildings as the Smart Museum of Art.

Internal needs also shaped the project, including a desire to lure third- and fourth-year students, many of whom now live off campus. The plans offer what the university, in a news release, termed a "more independent living experience," with large apartments including kitchen facilities.

Among other features of Gang's design are expansive dining commons areas and a top-floor gathering space in the tallest building with views of Lake Michigan and the downtown skyline.

University leaders have shown city officials a concept for the project and are preparing to submit the required documents for approval, according to a university official. Funding will be through a combination of debt, operating funds and contributions.